The Transportation Bureau of Kaohsiung City Government (KCG) in Taiwan has selected MasterCard International and other partners to create the TaiwanMoney Card, which will be used for a transportation system serving seven cities in southern Taiwan. The cards will be issued by Cathay United Bank, E.Sun Bank and Bank of Kaohsiung.

Keycorp Limited, a Sydney-based technology provider, will provide the contactless card technology. Acer will be the systems integrator, device provider and project manager, while China Engineering Consultants, Inc. (CECI) will be in charge of programming the electronic transportation terminals.

MasterCard International and Visa International will share a common communications protocol and associated testing requirements for radio frequency-based contactless payments at the point of sale. The protocol is based on the international ISO 14443 standard.

As a result, vendors will be able to streamline product development and testing, and merchants will have the assurance that a single point-of-sale terminal may support multiple payment brands.

SCM Microsystems has certified its personal smart card reader for use in financial applications as part of the MasterCard SecureCode solution. SCM's e20 is a battery-operated smart card reading device with a display and keypad for entering PIN codes and other numeric data. After a cardholder enters his or her PIN, the device generates a one-time password for authentication. The device also has the option to introduce a random "challenge" question to the user.

Applications may include Internet banking as well as secure mail order and telephone order (MOTO) payments.

Ruesch International, a provider of international business-to-business payment products and solutions, has partnered with CardSystems Solutions to offer credit card payment processing solutions to its customers, including traditional terminals, e-payment systems and integrated applications.

Late last year, Ruesch was acquired by Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), a New York-based private equity firm. Following the acquisition, Thomas P. Staudt was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Mr. Staudt joins Ruesch International following a long, distinguished and successful career in the financial services and healthcare industries. He has held CEO or other top-level positions in numerous national companies including Wells Fargo Bank, Card Establishment Services, MedE America and Source Medical. Additionally, he was an executive in residence at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. He replaces Otto J. Ruesch, founder and CEO, who passed away October 14, 2004.

National Auto Care (Columbus, Ohio), a provider of extended vehicle service agreements, will manage its automated claims and payment processing system using a credit card program from PNC Bank (Pittsburgh) and an online payment solution from Works Operating Company (Austin, Texas). National Auto Care processes approximately 5,000 claims a month.

When a repair shop or auto dealership requests approval for repairs covered under National's vehicle service agreement, the solution will electronically document the details of the approved repair, establish an appropriate credit limit and reconcile the approved claim amount. In this way, claims can be processed through the system automatically. The solution connects through Visa's global payments network.

Volkswagen Bank (Germany; assets of 21.4 billion euros) has chosen VASCO's (Brussels, Belgium) Digipass GO3 as the strong authentication component for its online-banking application. The "Bankey" solution will provide protection against phishing attempts and other common online scams.

With 8.0 billion euros in deposits at the end of 2004, Volkswagen Bank direct, a division of Volkswagen Bank, is one of the leading direct banks in Germany. Its portfolio includes savings and investment products, current accounts, credit cards and construction financing.